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Kevin Ryan Set To Be New Offaly Hurling Boss

Thursday, 10 November 2016

Former Antrim and Carlow manager Kevin Ryan will be ratified as the new Offaly hurling manager next week. MT45310BL

WATERFORD native Kevin Ryan will be put up for ratification next Tuesday night at the November meeting of the Offaly County board and once ratified; he will be the new Offaly Senior hurling manager. News broke on Monday night of his imminent appointment and it comes over three months after Eamonn Kelly stepped down in the Summer after Offaly's championship defeat to Wexford. Kelly himself was also in the news on Monday night as Laois named him as their new hurling manager taking over from Seamus Plunkett. Kevin Ryan is an experienced manager and he was part of the Waterford management team for four years during which they won the Munster title. He managed Carlow for four years and they won the Christy Ring Cup and Division two title while he also took charge of Antrim for three years with the highlight there being the under 21s beating Wexford and getting to the All-Ireland final. He has managed Mount Sion at minor, under 21 and senior level, during which they won county titles, and also managed Oulart The Ballagh to win a Wexford title. He played with Mount Sion and won five senior championships and captained Waterford and under 21 and senior level. His management team will be announced later but Paul Flynn will be part of it as a forwards coach. Flynn is an interesting addition to the backroom team and having been one of the best forwards to play the game, big things will be expected. The full backroom team is not finalised but in order to be ratified next Tuesday night, all that will have to be in place by then. It was announced at the October meeting of the Offaly County Board that Emmet Egan would be staying on as strength and conditioning coach.Danny Owens was interviewed for the job but was left dejected on Monday night when he was told he wouldn't be getting the job.'I'm very disappointed not to get the job. I was looking forward, if I had got the job, to bringing a fast, more direct style and a more ambitious approach to winning matches but it wasn't to be. I wish the new manager all the best.' Offaly will be in Division 1B of the National Hurling league alongside Galway, Laois, Wexford, Kerry and Limerick while they will take on one of the two teams that come out of the Round Robin series in the quarter final of the Leinster championship. Kelly's move to Laois three months after citing work commitments for leaving Offaly has also thrown up more questions and it will add even more spice to the league meeting between the two rival counties in the new year.